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SINGAPORE : It has been three years since homegrown singer Hady Mirza was crowned the second Singapore Idol. He then went on to beat out contestants from across the region to become the first Asian Idol in 2007.
It has also been three years since he released his first self-titled album. In that span of time, fellow Singapore Idol winner Taufik Batisah had released three albums and a movie soundtrack.
But Hady Mirza fans can finally hear some quality music as his second album "Sang Penyanyi" or The Singer, has finally been released. What took him so long?
"At the end of 2007, actually I wrote a lot of songs but it's just not right. You have to choose the right songs for the album," he said pensively. "I had to dig deep down inside to write songs that are sincere because that is most important."
He added that he had to take a break from songwriting to compete in Asian Idol which ate up a lot of his time, and more recently, mentor the contestants of Singapore Idol season three.
Hady is quite the perfectionist when it comes to his music. He said that his new album is for his loyal fans and spared no effort to make sure "Sang Penyanyi" is worth the wait.
"The fans have been waiting for quite a long time so I really wanted the songs in this album to be really, really good," the strapping 29-year old said. "There were a lot of times that the songs are not right and we had to start from scratch again."
"Sang Penyanyi" contains a total of ten tracks - eight Malay and two English ones - and reflects Hady's thoughts and emotions since he embarked on his musical career. It is quite a special album for Hady because he wrote eight of the ten tracks in it. That is a big leap from writing just one song on his maiden album.
The Man and his Music
When the discussion moved to the tracks in his album, Hady's eyes lit up and he enthusiastically leaned over to point out his favourite tracks in the album's song list - "Angkasa", "Doaku", "Berserah" and "Ku Tetap Kan Menunggu".
"'Angkasa' is the closest to the sound I want to get, the identity I want," he said. The song is about heartbreak and lost love and was inspired by a friend that had a bad relationship. Hady says he took special care to emote more when he was singing this song so it would resonate with listeners.
"Doaku" marks Hady's first musical collaboration with his 80-year-old grandfather, a former television star who Hady credits for his talent. Hady's grandfather Osman Zailani recites an original poem in this song about repentance.
He then went on to explain how the song "Berserah" had evolved from the original version Taufik wrote for him. Hady sang "Berserah" during the Asian Idol competition and went on to take the title.
He said the song is about overcoming challenges and felt it should be "more warm and personal" so he performed the song by himself with his guitar, highlighting that it is different from Taufik's usual dramatic style.
"From what people have heard [on Asian Idol], the arrangement is quite big, a lot of strings, very dramatic... but I felt that with so many instruments, it's too many things."
"Ku Tetap Kan Menunggu" is about finding the ideal partner. If all the songs reflect his emotions and thoughts, does this one mean he is actively seeking love? Is this a musical personal ad?
"Maybe?" Hady said sheepishly.
"I am still waiting for that special someone, that's why I wrote this song," Hady continued, bursting into laughter.
Hady may have finally released his second album but his work is far from done. A quick check with his publicist revealed that the singer-songwriter has a fully packed schedule in the coming months to meet the fans, perform and promote the album, but Hady does not mind it at all.
"The thing about this [album] is it is for the fans. I am happy just to see them happy," he said.
"Sang Penyanyi" is available at all CD Rama stores.
- CNA
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